Why The Bush Push To BAN Guns?

What on earth has happened that would make the conservative Bush Administration turn their back on some of their staunchest conservative supporters, the gun lobby?

You know something is terribly wrong when the arch liberal, gun-grabbing Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence actually salutes the Bush Administration for their support for the draconian DC gun control Bill!

How could Bush cave in like this? Is it because he is a lame duck and doesn`t care? Or has he really been a fair weather friend of the 2nd Amendment all along and now his true colors are showing? What could the President be thinking by supporting a Bill that strips U.S. Veterans from being able to own a gun when they return home from war?

Commenting on these questions and more is the Executive Director of the nation`s second largest gun organization, Gun Owners of America.

During your Talk Show interview with Executive Director LARRY PRATT, he gives the latest details about the signing of the first gun control legislation in over a decade, the Veterans Disarmament Act (H.R. 2640). He also gives the provocative components of the very anti-gun brief filed by the Solicitor General (the Justice Department`s lawyer) in the DC gun ban case, D.C. v. Heller.

Said Pratt, "The D.C. v. Heller case is by far the most important Second Amendment court case of our lifetime. Rep. Virgil Goode is rounding up other members of the U.S. House of Representatives to join with him on his letter to the President asking him to withdraw that brief. "

Gun Owners of America has taken the lead in building public awareness of the Solicitor General`s action and the need to urge all members of Congress to support Rep. Goode`s efforts.

For further information, you may review the news release below Mr. Pratt`s biography.

ABOUT YOUR EXPERT GUEST, LARRY PRATT "

Larry Pratt has been Executive Director of Gun Owners of America for 30 years. GOA is a national membership organization of 300,000 Americans dedicated to promoting their second amendment freedom to keep and bear arms.

GOA lobbies for the pro-gun position in Washington and is involved in firearm issues in the states. GOA`s work includes providing legal assistance to those involved in lawsuits with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the federal firearms law enforcement agency.

Pratt has appeared on numerous national radio and TV programs such as NBC`s Today Show, CBS` Good Morning America, CNN`s Crossfire and Larry King Live, Fox`s Hannity & Colmes, MSNBC`s Phil Donahue and Dan Abrams show and many others. He has debated Congressmen James Traficant, Jr. (D-OH), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Vice President Al Gore, among others. His columns have appeared in newspapers across the country.

He published a book, Armed People Victorious, in 1990 and was editor of a book, Safeguarding Liberty: The Constitution & Militias, 1995. His latest book, On the Firing Line: Essays in the Defense of Liberty was published in 2001.

Pratt has held elective office in the state legislature of Virginia, serving in the House of Delegates. Pratt directs a number of other public interest organizations and serves as the Vice-Chairman of the American Institute for Cancer Research.

THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS RELEASE FROM GUN OWNERS OF AMERICA:

Gun Owners of America (GOA), a grassroots lobby representing over 300,000 Americans, has called on the Bush administration to withdraw an anti-gun brief field by the Solicitor General in the U.S. Supreme Court.

The amicus brief, filed last Friday in the D.C. gun ban case of D.C. v. Heller, argued that any gun ban -- no matter how sweeping -- could be constitutional if some court determines that it is "reasonable."

"If the Supreme Court were to accept the Solicitor General`s line of argument," said Larry Pratt, Executive Director of GOA, "D.C.`s categorical gun ban of virtually all self-defense firearms could well be found to be constitutional, even if the court, as predicted, holds that the Second Amendment protects `individual` rights."

The Solicitor General`s suggestion that comprehensive gun bans are constitutional if some court determines they are "reasonable" was enthusiastically greeted by anti-gun zealots -- probably because it represents the lowest standard of constitutional review.

"In contrast to other provisions in the Bill of Rights, which can only be trumped by `compelling state interests,` the Second Amendment would be relegated to an inferior position at the lowest rung of the constitutional ladder, should the Justice Department prevail," said Pratt.

"Moreover, under the administration`s amicus brief, a national ban on all firearms -- including hunting rifles -- could be `constitutional,` even if the Supreme Court decides -- on ample historical evidence -- that the Founders intended the Second Amendment as an individual right.

"Rather than argue that `shall not be infringed` is a categorical prohibition on government gun-banning, the administration has chosen to align itself with those who do not believe in self defense or civilian gun ownership," Pratt concluded.

As a result, GOA put out a public call for the Justice Department to withdraw its anti-gun brief, and invited the National Rifle Association to join it in fighting this anti-gun development.

Larry Pratt is the Executive Director for Gun Owners of America, a national gun lobby with over 300,000 members. Either Larry Pratt or another GOA spokesman is available for press interviews.

PRIOR PITCH SHEET DISPATCHED ON SAME TOPIC:

Vets Stripped of Gun Rights

Let`s say you`re a veteran "trained by the US military to wage war and use weapons wisely on a foreign battlefield. Every day you face intense pressure from fierce enemy combatants. You`re surrounded by a civilian populace, some of whom want you dead ".many others, innocent bystanders. It`s up to you to tell them apart. But our government trusts your judgment under fire, so long as you`re stationed overseas.

Something unusual happens the moment you return to the United States, though. The medical establishment may place you under a mental health microscope. Perhaps you attend a hearing. Perhaps you don`t. But as long as you`re allowed a hearing before a lawful authority, " you can be found mentally disabled. The moment that happens, all your Second Amendment rights are cancelled.

You may spend years and thousands of dollars attempting to prove your mental fitness. You may never regain your right to bear arms.

That, in a nutshell, is the bombshell hidden in the much ballyhooed Gun Control bill, passed Dec. 19, 2007 by acclamation in both houses of Congress and sent to the President for his signature.

HR2640 "known to its opponents as the Veterans Disarmament Act "is a godsend to notorious gun grabbers like Charles Schumer and the Brady Bunch. "

Gun Owners of America President Larry Pratt is available for radio interviews now to discuss this critical issue.

During your interview, Larry explains how Gun Owners of America saw the devil in the details, " and tried to forge compromise language in the bill that would have restored a vet`s gun ownership rights if the agency which passed judgment did not respond to the gun owner`s appeal within 365 days.

Congress, however, had other ideas. And now up to 140,000 veterans are in danger of losing a precious freedom they fought so hard to defend on foreign shores.

The good news? It`s not too late. President Bush can still choose to veto HR2640. But if he signs this fatally flawed bill or takes no action by December 29th, the Veterans Disarmament Act will automatically become the law of the land.

Larry Pratt of Gun Owners of America urges veterans groups and lovers of democracy to stand against this unjust legislation and urge President Bush to do the right thing. Veto HR2640 while there`s still time.

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